Local ballots start to take shape as election petition filings begin in Illinois - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

Remember this is only the first day to submit petitions.

By Kevin Haas
Staff writer

Posted Nov. 23, 2015 at 6:14 pm Updated at 8:47 PM

ROCKFORD — Local ballots for the upcoming March primary began to fill up today, the first day for candidates to file their petitions.

Prospective candidates have until 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 30, to file paperwork for the March 15 primary contest. Key races in Winnebago County include state's attorney, County Board chairman, coroner and several County Board seats. There are also several state House and Senate contests.

Winnebago County Clerk Margie Mullins will hold a lottery at 2 p.m. Monday, Nov. 30, to determine which candidates get the coveted first position on the ballot. First position on the ballot is typically first-come, first-served, except when candidates running against each other arrive at the county clerk's office at the same time. First position on the ballot is preferred because of the so-called primacy effect, the tendency for voters to choose the first name on a list.

Here's a look at who has filed so far:

U.S. Senator: Andrea Zopp, D; Tammy Duckworth, D; Mark Kirk, R; James T. Marter, R

State reprsentative

67th District: Litesa Wallace, D; Wladimiro Aguirre, D
68th District: John Cabello, R; Tricia Sweeney, D
69th District: Joe Sosnowski, R
89th District: Brian Stewart, R

State senator

34th District: Steve Stadelman, D
35th District: Dave Syverson, R

Boone County

Coroner: Rebecca Wigget, R

Circuit Clerk: Linda Anderson, R; Todd Shattuck, R

State’s Attorney: Michelle Courier, R; Tricia Smith, R

County Board
Six total seats open (two for each of the county's 3 districts).

District 1: W. Fred Genrich, R
District 2: Cathy Ward, R; Bernard O’Malley, R
District 3: Carl Larson, R

— Ben Stanley contributed to this report

 

 

 

Local ballots start to take shape as election petition filings begin in Illinois - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

DeKalb alderman pushes for pay raise for City Council members | Daily Chronicle

 

By BRITTANY KEEPERMAN bkeeperman @shawmedia.com

DeKALB – Dave Baker, 6th Ward alderman, wants to more than double the pay of DeKalb City Council members to encourage more candidates to run for elected positions, but his push for a pay hike comes as the city struggles to find money for everything from pension payments to road repairs.

“Five-thousand dollars is ridiculously low,” Baker said of the $5,400 a year paid to members of the City Council. “It should be at least $12,000.”

The council is set to discuss the pay issue at its meeting at 6 p.m. Monday at the DeKalb Municipal Center, 200 S. Fourth St

At Baker’s request, city staff compiled pay data for elected officials in other municipalities for the council members to use in reviewing pay for elected officials including the mayor, aldermen and city clerk.

Baker said council members who are better-paid will perform better.

“I see a degradation to the integrity of the council,” he said. “We let things go by that we know are wrong because no one has the energy or incentive to delve in and stop it.”

City Council members are paid $5,400 a year. City staff compiled compensation data for 12 comparable municipalities with council salaries ranging from $1,400 a year in Streamwood to $16,423 a year in Romeoville. The median pay for those 13 municipalities was $5,400. Romeoville’s council pay was more than double the second highest on the list, Hoffmann Estates ($7,400).

DeKalb’s $5,400 was above the median of $5,000 in a comparison with four other college towns, including Champaign ($5,000) and Carbondale ($4,200). DeKalb’s pay also is above the median of $4,800 on a list of other nearby communities, including Cortland ($2,400) and Rochelle ($5,000).

Bob Snow, 4th Ward alderman, said that although there was never a good time to look at pay for elected officials, he felt it was appropriate to review the data on a regular basis. City code calls for reviewing the compensation each June before a municipal election, according to a staff memo.

“I have no strong feelings one way or another, but [pay] hasn’t changed in several years,” he said. “It should be reviewed.” 

Snow added that he didn’t think anyone on the council sought the office for the money.

“I don’t think anyone does it for the money, but there is a time commitment,” Snow said.

He said he spends up to seven hours preparing for a council meeting, sometimes reviewing hundreds of pages of documents or meeting with city staff members to go over complicated issues in more detail. Monday’s agenda included 495 pages of documents.

DeKalb’s mayor is paid $22,500, above the median of $17,500 for the same set of communities. In both Belvidere ($71,028) and Romeoville ($88,572), the mayor is a full-time elected position. The median mayoral salary was $12,000 in college communities and $22,250 in nearby communities.

Compensation data for the position of city clerk varied significantly depending on if the position was full time or part time.

The communities included in the data sets were the same as those used by professional services firm Sikich in a Pay, Compensation and Classification Study in April, according to a staff memo.

Sikich selected comparable municipalities using an “empirically based, weighted variable model” that factored in things such as population and municipal services were offered, according to the study. The towns were Carpentersville, Hanover Park, Romeoville, Crystal Lake, Streamwood, Wheaton, Rolling Meadows, Batavia, Elk Grove Village, Belvidere, Hoffman Estates, Sycamore and St. Charles. DeKalb County was also used as a comparable in the Sikich study at the city’s request.

Any changes the council makes to elected officials’ pay wouldn’t go into effect until the next election, 2017 for some seats and 2019 for others.

Baker said a salary bump would attract better candidates to the election.

“When you have a lot of issues facing a community,” he said, “... it really requires more time than people are putting in.”

DeKalb alderman pushes for pay raise for City Council members | Daily Chronicle

Closer Look: Why Illinois budget deal unlikely before 2016 | Belleville News-Democrat

 

CHICAGO

Much attention is being focused on a Dec. 1 sit-down between Gov. Bruce Rauner and legislative leaders as Illinois approaches the five-month mark without a state budget.

But there are other dates approaching that may be far more important to hopes for a deal on a spending plan, since getting there has as much to do with political timing as getting everyone in the same room or agreeing on what and how much to fund.

For politicians, the calendar often dictates motivations. And considerations such as the primary election in March and whether they will face opposition could be as big a factor as anything in getting a deal before spring.

Among the tough votes lawmakers may have to cast are for a likely tax increase to help a close a revenue gap or for pieces of a pro-business agenda the Republican governor is pushing to weaken labor unions' bargaining power. Democrats say his proposals would hurt working families and shouldn't factor into talks over how to close a multibillion-dollar budget hole; Rauner says they're necessary to improve Illinois' economy.

Next week's meeting is expected to bring Rauner together with House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton, both Democrats, and GOP leaders Rep. Jim Durkin and Sen. Christine Radogno for the first time since the fiscal year began.

Here's a look at other key dates in the budget battle:

-----

NOV. 30: NOMINATING PETITION DEADLINE

One of the biggest calculations for legislators will be determining who will vote "yes" on a deal that could include unpopular items such as a tax increase.

Rauner's roughly $20 million political fund and a new political action committee that says it has millions to spend against Democrats in the March primaries have added a new level of concern for candidates this year, even for lawmakers in what are considered "safe" Democratic or Republican districts.

While all seats in the Illinois House and about two-thirds of state senate districts will be on the 2016 ballot, only some sitting lawmakers will face challenges come March.

Starting Monday, candidates may begin filing their nominating petitions with the state board of elections. The deadline to file is Nov. 30.

That's important because it will give legislators up for re-election a sense of whether they can or should risk their political neck by taking a tough vote on a budget deal before the primary.

JAN. 1: SIMPLE MAJORITY

The Illinois Constitution says that after May 31, any bill approved by the Legislature requires a three-fifths vote in both chambers, rather than a simple majority, to take effect prior to July 1 of the next year.

That means that if the Legislature wants to pass a budget before the end of 2015, it would take 71 "yes" votes in the House and 36 in the Senate. If they wait until January, they need 60 in the House and 30 in the Senate — a far easier threshold.

Rauner has said he's "cautiously optimistic that maybe in January we'll get something done."

The rookie governor also has suggested it's Democrats who are putting off a deal because they don't want to take a "tough" vote. Asked about Rauner's comments, Cullerton said the governor must have "misspoke."

"Even if we had an agreement we couldn't vote on anything until January," he said. "That's just clinical."

MARCH 15: PRIMARY ELECTION

It's possible some lawmakers will want to wait until after the March 15 primary before casting a vote on a budget package. It's also possible that the leaders still won't have agreed on a plan by then.

Regardless, there will be even more pressure on lawmakers to get something done.

Among the issues expected to boil over into the 2016 session are universities and community colleges that may be forced to make drastic cuts, including not offering grants to students who need help paying tuition. And without help it's been seeking from the state, Chicago Public Schools may have to lay off hundreds of teachers. The teachers union already has said it will be willing to strike.

Of course, lawmakers already are hearing horror stories about the impact of the budget standoff, and, so far, it hasn't brought much action.

"We're still a long way away from a final resolution," Madigan said

Closer Look: Why Illinois budget deal unlikely before 2016 | Belleville News-Democrat

Unemployment Debt Weighs on U.S. States 6 Years After Recession - Yahoo Finance

 

By Mark Niquette 2 hours ago

 

U.S. states are still repaying federal loans for unemployment benefits more than six years after the recession, costing businesses from mighty Apple Inc. to Ohio’s humble Canton Chair Rental hundreds of millions in taxes and interest. And only a third of states are prepared for the next downturn.

Thirty-five states borrowed from a federal fund when dismissals from the 18-month recession that began in December 2007 depleted jobless benefit accounts. California,  Ohio and Connecticut are the only ones that haven’t retired their debt, which businesses must repay through higher levies. California firms alone have already paid $1.8 billion though last year, and the loan isn’t projected to be paid off until sometime in 2018.

“This is money that we should not be paying out,” said Ginny Grome of Restaurant Management Inc. in Cincinnati, which owns 65 Arby’s restaurants in seven states and has paid almost $218,000 in extra taxes because of Ohio’s outstanding loan. “That’s a lot of money as far as reinvesting or how many more employees could we have had.”

A bill was introduced in Ohio on Nov. 9 to build reserves by 2025 to avoid borrowing again when the next recession hits. But only 17 states have an unemployment insurance fund that the U.S. Labor Department considers sufficient for a downturn, according to a June report, as states try to balance an adequate safety net with an aversion to higher taxes.

“You have to make difficult choices at times, but the system is set up in a way that the states are responsible,” said Doug Holmes, president of UWC-Strategic Services on Unemployment & Workers’ Compensation, a Washington association representing employers.

Each state maintains a fund fed by taxes on employers to cover jobless benefits. When a state must borrow from the federal government to cover those payments and has outstanding balance for more than two consecutive years, employers pay a higher rate to retire the debt. Interest also accrues, which some states pay by assessing businesses and which others cover with state dollars.

Colorado, Illinois, Michigan and five other states issued bonds or borrowed from other funds to retire their federal debt, while others raised employer taxes and reduced benefits, Holmes said. Indiana advanced funds last month to retire its $250 million debt and save businesses $327 million next year, Governor Mike Pence said.

“Hoosier businesses and employees can now rest assured that this tax on hiring has been eliminated,” Pence, a Republican, said in a Nov. 10 release.

In Connecticut, where employers have paid $504 million in additional taxes and $85 million in interest -- and have a rate more than four times higher than in Massachusetts -- the state expects to pay off its $101 million balance next year, said Carl Guzzardi of the state’s Labor Department.

California owes $5.9 billion, and there’s no appetite among businesses for higher taxes or among employee groups to accept benefit cuts, said Marti Fisher of the state’s Chamber of Commerce.

“The only option in this state is for the employers to pay it off,” she said. “It’s a burden.”

Ohio’s outstanding balance is $775 million, after employers have paid $962 million in additional taxes and the state $246 million in interest, according to the Job and Family Services department. California has paid $1.3 billion in interest since 2011, part of $3.7 billion nationwide, federal data show.

The Ohio bill introduced this month to revamp the system ties the employer tax rate to whether the state has a “minimum safe level” of reserves, while also reducing maximum worker benefits and requiring drug tests for some applicants.

The Ohio AFL-CIO opposes the measure because it “unfairly puts the burden of reform on the backs of the unemployed while employers will pay less overall,” President Tim Burga said in a statement.

State Representative Barbara Sears, a Republican who sponsored the bill, said the timing is right to bolster the fund while unemployment is at 4.4 percent and the economy is improving.

“Do we want to go into the next recession prepared to the best of our ability, or do we want to go into the next recession ill-prepared and take the full brunt of the hit long after the recession is over?” she said during a Nov. 10 hearing in Columbus

Unemployment Debt Weighs on U.S. States 6 Years After Recession - Yahoo Finance

Residents upset about one-way street project near Boone County Courthouse in Belvidere - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

 

Ben Stanley
Staff writer

Posted Nov. 22, 2015 at 8:00 AM
Updated Nov 22, 2015 at 5:29 PM

BELVIDERE — Recent construction intended to turn a thoroughfare near the Boone County Courthouse into a one-way street has neighborhood residents reeling.

In September, the city decided to turn Menomonie Street into a one-way between Main and Webster streets to accommodate angle parking for city police cars, but neighbors say they were never notified of the city’s intentions and were not given an opportunity to voice their concerns before construction began.

"Evidently, if they’re going to change the neighborhood, they don’t have to tell you," resident Shirley Mills said. "They can just do what they want."

Meanwhile, aldermen never approved an ordinance to make the changes, leaving the project in legal limbo while construction crews worked under contract with the city. The city spent about $6,500 to build islands that established angle parking. Construction finished in late October, but the road was not opened to traffic because of the unapproved ordinance, said Brent Anderson, director of Public Works.

At last week's council meeting, a group of residents from the neighborhood demanded that the city take immediate action to open the street to two-way traffic again. The council obliged, voting unanimously against the lingering one-way ordinance so the city could review its options and draw up a plan to reverse changes to Menomonie Street.

"We will start over again to rectify the mess that’s been made," Mayor Mike Chamberlain said.

Chamberlain and aldermen apologized during the meeting for fumbling communication with the neighborhood about the project before it began. Miscommunication among aldermen, police and residents left many confused about what kind of work was being done on Menomonie and why.

On Sept. 8, aldermen voted unanimously to approve a motion from the Public Safety and Finance committees to close Menomonie Street so crews could break ground on the project. At the time, Chamberlain was in Europe consulting with civic leaders in sister cities on economic development strategies; 4th Ward Ald. George Crawford conducted the meeting in the mayor's absence.

Some aldermen still blamed Chamberlain for the foul-up.

"That’s an excuse, but it’s really not a reason," Ald. Clinton Morris said. "If you put it on the agenda and it will affect people here and you’re overseas, then why not hold it off? There should be no blame that goes to the council. The council doesn’t run the day-to-day operations of the city. That’s the mayor."

Chamberlain took responsibility for the miscue but said he trusted the council to make responsible decisions in his absence.

The city will review plans to change Menomonie back into a two-way street during a Committee of the Whole meeting at 6 p.m. Monday at Belvidere City Hall. Anderson said there are two options: pay for construction crews to restore the street's original configuration or explore whether the city can keep angled parking and still accommodate two-way traffic.

"The bottom line for the Police Department is, we need additional parking stalls for our police cars," Chief Jan Noble said. Noble said he'd prefer expanded parking at lots already used by police officers, but "parking on the street is what we may very well have to resort to."

Residents upset about one-way street project near Boone County Courthouse in Belvidere - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL